


What Happened After The Library

by Ladylauralue



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-16 15:13:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5830360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladylauralue/pseuds/Ladylauralue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some Drova drabbles that take place after "A Proposal of Sorts" and the one I wrote after it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Happened After The Library

**Author's Note:**

> Posted as one here, originally posted as three, thus the lack of smooth transition.

With the diamonds gone from the mine, Leroy was struggling for something to do. Dwarf work-ethic manifesting after 28 years of dormancy, or something like that. He wasn’t sure about the spell work jargon of it, he was just itching for something productive to do. That’s what he told himself as he walked out of Granny’s Diner and headed towards the Library. It was a little after noon, he’d finished his coffee earlier than usual and hurried out the door. The cold air hit him like a hammer, but he ignored it, focusing on getting down the street quickly. The library would be warm. The new librarian had been working to make the whole place comfortable and welcoming. She’d only managed a few chairs and some painting, but maybe she had some other ideas for ways to fix up the place. He thought about asking her later, if he saw her.

He made his way to the non-fiction section, but nothing really caught his eye. He wandered through the shelves, wondering what kind of books people in this world read. There seemed to be an awful lot of books on how-to, and cook books, and science. Cooking wasn’t anything he’d really gone out on a limb with, here as Leroy, or back home as Grumpy. Why did people think cooking gourmet or foreign food was fun? Food was food. You ate it, you were done. He wandered to the end of the non-fiction section, nothing else catching his eye. His ears caught the upbeat cadence of a trilling voice, one that called to Leroy and to Grumpy. He followed the voice, coming to a brightly lit corner of the library. He immediately withdrew, feeling like an outsider. This was a place for little children, and bright voices and… not the former town drunk, and dwarf fighter. But he couldn’t take his eyes of the vivacious reader. He remembered, briefly, meeting Sister Astrid. A nun, just as untouchable as a fairy, but reaching down to brighten his life, if only for a moment. He remembered Nova, who’s heart he broke by leaving. He wasn’t Dreamy any more, and he wasn’t fully Grumpy. He was someone new, someone who could, maybe, be better because he was both.

Leroy wasn’t sure how long he stood there, or even what story Nova had read, but when he saw her close the book and the children scramble off he came to himself. He wasn’t sure what he should say, if he should say anything to her. So he didn’t. He turned and walked slowly back to the front of the library, intending to leave without being noticed. He hadn’t counted on the flighty former fairy beating him there. He saw her pick up a scrap of paper, read it and look around frantically before sitting down hard in the chair at the Librarian’s desk. She held the children’s book to her chest, clinging to it as though it could save her. He walked forward, thinking of what he could say to make the look of worried fear go away. When he was still a few paces away she looked up, surprise and joy in her eyes.

“Dreamy?” She stood up, but in her haste over balanced and nearly tumbled over. Leroy ran and caught her roughly by her elbow. From her odd position against his chest he heard her pipe “I never expected to see you here!” His heart beat a little harder, but he was certain it was just the surprise. He hadn’t heard that name in years.

“Yeah, the library isn’t really my sort of haunt.” He righted Nova and stepped away, trying to put a modest distance between them. “I just came by to see if the librarian needed any kind of help around here.”

“Well, the kids really like story time, but we only have that once a day…” Nova trailed off, thinking of what else a solidly built man could do.

“I was thinking more like handy work… I aint so good with kids.” He mumbled “maybe some new shelves? Is there anything that could be fixed?”

Nova  paused, looking around. “Nothing comes to mind. You could ask Belle when she gets back, but she’s left for the day.” She bit her lip and avoided eye contact.

“She’s just gone?” Leroy looked around, confused and feeling almost resentful on Nova’s behalf. “She just ditched you? What the hell kind of thing to do is that?”

“She said something came up at the pawn shop. She didn’t say when she’d be back” Holding out the note, Nova shuffled her feet. “I should probably start shelving books or something.”

Reading the hasty scrawl, Leroy felt his anger subside. “Belle thinks you’re capeable.” He said it as a simple statement, left it hanging in the air.

“I’m not completely helpless,” cheeks flushed with embarrassment, Nova searched for an argument to defend herself “She’s been teaching me how things are organized and how to make sure books were properly cared for…” She trailed off, not wanting to meet Leroy’s eyes.

Leroy realized how she had taken his statement “No, no, no, that isn’t what I meant at all!” As Dreamy and as Grumpy he’d had a better way with words, but Leroy’s habits were hard to break. “I meant what are you worried about if she thinks you’re capable?”

Facing him again, Nova searched for honesty in his face and, on finding it, smiled timidly. “She does love this library an awful lot.” The realization gave her confidence, “She wouldn’t have left me in charge if she didn’t think I could do it.” She tried to contain her excitement, only managing to suppress the more flamboyant expressions. She couldn’t hide the glee in her voice or her smile.

Mirroring her smile, Leroy went out on a limb. “If you want, I can help you around the place, if she’s not back soon.” The next sentence left his lips before he could even think. “And after you’re done, I could make you dinner.”

Nodding eagerly, Nova agreed “I would like that very much.” She reached out and hooked his arm with hers and led him down the aisles, pointing out different sections, explaining the organization that Belle had set up and the plans and Ideas the two women had thought up. When the time came to close the library and Belle still had not returned, Nova taped a note to the door before shutting them for the night.

Please don’t steal the books.

She was too busy looking for tape to see Leroy check out a cook book.

 

.....

 

Leroy didn’t know who wrote this cook book, but there was very little “made easy” about the recipes in this book. They all needed some assortment of spices that he had hardly heard of, let alone touched. He was sneaking glimpses of the book as they were stopped at crosswalks. What the heck was cumin? The only one he understood was pepper and salt.

“Is everything alright Dreamy?” Nova’s voice interrupted his perusal.

“Eh? What, no! I mean- yeah, yeah, everythings fine.” He slapped the pages shut, “just looking at other recipes. Seeing what else could be fun to make.”

Nova stopped, reaching her hand out to grab Leroy’s. “You know, you could just tell me what’s wrong.”

 Squeezing the delicate fingers in his grip, Leroy looked into Nova’s eyes. Even with her memories intact, and the knowledge that he was a faulty man holding things together with good intentions, she looked at him with hope. She glowed with it.

“I’m not Dreamy. Even before the curse I wasn’t Dreamy any more. I lost my name and it was replaced.” He rushed into the explanation when worry and confusion clouded her eyes.  “The name for a Dwarf comes from who they are. When we take up our axe for the first time it tells us who we are. After I met you, I changed.”

At her sharp gasp Leroy faltered. “I-I… When I picked up my axe the next day, it didn’t work. I couldn’t cut through the rock. I kept striking, and then it broke. When they brought me a new one it gave me a new name.”

“What was the name?” Nova whispered.

“Grumpy.” Leroy replied. “And that’s who I’ve been ever since, until The Curse. Then I became Leroy, the town drunk.” He tried to pull his hand away, when he saw that Nova was looking down. He couldn’t see the expression on her face, but he hated that he kept disappointing her.

“Well then, we should find you a new name.” When Nova raised her head to meet his eyes he saw acceptance, and great affection that bordered on something new. He didn’t want to give it a name, so instead he used her hold on his hand to lead her back to the little place he called home. Maybe they could figure out the cooking together.

 

.....

 

Meats were easy to cook. Throw them in a pan, let them sizzle, put some sauce and you were done. If you wanted to get fancy, you could do a marinade. Leroy wasn’t fancy. He wasn’t a gourmet kind of guy. He still struggled with making something other than meat and potatoes. His apartment was too small, and it seemed so dingy with her here. What in hells was he trying to do here? His lack of cooking skills left so much to be desired, she could never be impressed with this.

“Dream y, are you alright?” Nova asked. She was busy mixing juice. He didn’t even know he had a pitcher, or the cheese grater she was using to stir. She’d kept her scarf and cape on to ward off the chill that hung in his apartment. He’d turned on the heat, but it didn’t change much.

“Nearly done here. You’ve really never had a steak?” He was still shocked by that, he felt Nova of all people would appreciate new foods.

“No… Mother Superior only allowed chicken for us, and we didn’t eat like you all did back home” She felt a little embarrassed by her lack of experience in this world. She’d always been a dreamer; she never been able to be much of a doer. She shook off those sadder thoughts as stood back a little to watch Leroy cook. He made it all look so easy, and it smelled so tasty.

He lifted the steak out of the pan and left the potatoes to simmer a little longer. He pulled up the mismatched stools he had to the unbalanced table and set the platter down. He turned to walk back to his kitchenette only to be obstructed by Nova and the pitcher. She couldn’t stop herself in time and somehow the pitcher somehow upended itself over the two of them. The stood there, inches apart as the juice soaked into their clothes and dripped onto his floor. Leroy stopped still, watching for Nova to make the first move.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m such a klutz, no matter who I am.” She staggered back a pace as she looked at the damage, tearing up a little. “I was hoping to be able to impress you this time. But I still can’t manage-”

“You don’t need to try and impress me. This was an accident, probably more my fault than yours.” When she started to protest Leroy reached out for her arm and pulled her close. She stopped breathing for a moment as she stared up at him, lips slightly widened in shock. Leroy took a second to bolster his courage and then leaned in, his lips finding hers with the hope of a man once lost finding home. They stood there for a long, silent moment, before they pulled back. Nova’s look of shock was replaced with a Cheshire grin. Leroy was silent for a moment longer, before he remembered the potatoes. “Hang on a second!” he cried as he ran to the stove.

Astrid bit her lip, smiling as she slid her cape off. There was some splattered juice on her skirt and stockings, but she could ignore it. She sat herself down in the chair, deciding to take herself out of disaster’s way and wait for dinner to be served. Leroy came back with the steaming pan of potatoes and slid them onto the platter with the steak. “Nova, are you cold?” he noticed she only had the thin sweater of her nun’s outfit on. “Hang on, I’ve got some spare jackets.”

When he returned it was with a thick, worn jacket that he draped over her thin shoulders. She slid her arms through the sleeves and reached up to grab his hand before he moved away. “Thank you” she said, smiling and gazing up at him.

“Yeah, no problem” he responded. “Alright-Um… Dinner’s served.”

“It smells delicious” She served herself a steak and a ladle of potatoes and they both proceeded to dig in to the meager meal.

They passed it in companionable silence and conversation, talking about the dwarves work in the mines, and the fairies at the convent. The told stories of things they’d done back in their home world, and people they’d met. He made her laugh with his jokes; she made him smile with her antics at the convent. When they were walking back to the church he took her hand in his and she smiled and started humming a nonsense song. It was a long walk, but with her, time seemed to fly. All too soon he was outside the doors of the church, and Nova was stealing kisses good night before turning and vanishing inside the building.

When she snuggled into bed that night she had Leroy’s jacket laid out like a coverlet, keeping her warm as she drifted off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I love writing these two, so if anyone wants to prompt more about them, PLEASE do so!


End file.
